Congress leader appeals to Jaitley to review GST on handlooms

New Delhi June 30 (IANS) Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu on Friday wrote to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley appealing for immediate review and reversal of GST proposals on handlooms and powerlooms raw material and products.

He said he will also sit on dharna at Parliament on Friday between 9.30 p.m. and 10.45 p.m. as a mark of protest. Following the proposals of GST textile sector in particular handlooms and powerlooms are in distress said Ananda Bhaskar in the letter. Being the weaver by community I hold responsibility to highlight the grievance of the textiles sector he added. Bhaskar said: GST destroys handloom. Hence treat handlooms raw material and products on par with raw salt as agitated and Mahatma Gandhi. Powerlooms are cloth providers of the nation. They are labour intensive. Their raw material shall be treated with humanitarian attitude he added in the letter. Bhaskar also stressed that latest proposals of GST over several sub-sectors of textiles are indirect promoters to dumping of imported fabrics in particular from China. Ultimately the poverty stricken handloom and powerloom weavers will face hunger deaths and prevelant suicides will grow he added. --IANS sid/rn